Weakness
by Jibaku-Chan
Summary: (The censor may go higher later) DIB/ZIM SLASH-After numerous attempts to crush Dib's body, Zim decides to crush his soul instead. Heavy Dib angst. (Chapters 10 and 11 are up!)
1. Everyone Hates Puberty

Notes: yeah, this is a Dib/Zim slash. the actual slashing wont come till later...this will proably focus mainly around Dib, cause I like him alot. Its my first, so please review but be kind, and read to the second chapter at least...  
  
_  
  
"Lalalala! Muffin, muffin, I want a muff-in..."  
  
"Quiet, GIR." Zim tapped a few keys on his computer, bringing up his log. "Log vocal recognition begin."  
  
"Oh, master, have you heard about muffins? They're like cupcakes, but healthy for you! You can get them in blueberry and strawberry-"  
  
"GIR..."  
  
"And banana nut and bran and-"  
  
"GIR!" Zim glared over at his robot. Why don't you go scan one of these earthen baked goods into the computer." He handed GIR a pack of hostess cupcakes. GIR's tiny blue eyes lit up. "Yay! Snoballs!"  
  
Zim watched his obedient little bot trot off towards the lab. The odds of the pastries even reaching the lab were not very good, seeing as how GIR was already tearing at the cellophane with his metal tongue. However, he didn't really care at all about breakfast pastries, rather wishing to fill out his log in piece.  
  
"Dear log." He paused, meditating on the next sentence. "Once again, I have proved myself superior to the pathetic human stinkbag known as Dib. Its almost becoming a chore, rather then a joy. However, he MUST be stopped if I am to launch an effective plan of world domination. Since physical injuries seem to do little more then provoke him, Ill have to crush him in a different way." He drummed his fingers on the table. "He must have a weakness...computer! Do a scan on basic human weakness, crossed with the information files we have on Dib!"  
  
"Processing." A list showed up on the screen.   
  
"Hmmm..." Zim studied the list. "Weakness for paranormal activities...that's no good. Weakness for peanut butter? That's just ridiculous. Ah." An evil grin crossed his face. "Perrrrfect." He laughed evilly and took off for his lab. "Dib! Your pathetic human husk shall be no MORE!"  
  
Back on the computer screen, the final phrase still flashed- "Weakness for human and physical contact".  
  
~  
Weakness  
Chapter 1-Everyone Hates Puberty  
~  
  
Dib stared at the ceiling of his room. It was growing dark, at last. He pulled his glasses off and huffed on them, then polished them with the corner of his shirt. he squinted off into the night sky, searching for alien life as always...  
  
Oh, hell, what was he kidding. He was looking for Zim. Zim, his one abiding obsession. Zim was what got him up in the morning, what kept him going to skool despite his complete boredom, the sum of his evening and weekend activities, the first thought in his mind in the morning and the last one in his head at night.  
  
An outside observer would have thought Dib was psychotic or in love (or a mixture of the two). His obsessiveness about trapping Zim and keeping him from being a threat to the world paralleled obsessive-compulsive behavior.   
  
People who thought this, however, would have maybe benefited from spending a day in Dib's brain. Dib's life had never been that much fun. His Mom had taken off at an early age. He was lucky if he received a birthday card from her, despite the fact it would be a month late and possibly be addressed to his sister, Gaz. However, this was an outpouring of affection compared to what he received from his father, Professor Membrane. He was so busy trying to save the world from its inevitable self-destruction he barely noticed the breaking down of his own family life. Dib had tried everything to please him, from feigning interest in science (thus triggering his interest in the paranormal) top getting his stellar grades to keeping the house clean-nothing worked. Nothing earned him more then a pat on the head from Membrane with a murmured "good job son" on the way to the lab. Gaz was a lost cause, mentally scarred enough by her parent's absentia that she immersed herself in a digital world rather then deal with the real one.   
  
In that respect, Dib and Gaz had a lot in common-ignoring the real world in favor of their own. Gaz's utopia of choice had no real chance of emerging in the real world. Dib's didn't seem to either, until Zim showed up and turned his whole world upside down.  
  
Dib laid on his bed, thinking about (what else?) Zim. He had shown up in skool a little more then 3 years ago. In that amount of time, a lot had happened to Dib. One of those things was puberty. That hated enemy of the already awkward child, puberty had done little in his favor. He had acne, now, along his hairline. He had grown gawky and thin-limbed with little actual muscle, and his voice squeaked nearly any time he tried to talk. Another thing that had accompanied this bouquet of delights was his first actual stirrings of physical attraction-  
  
Ah, young love. Already a problem for a young man who wasn't exactly popular, the problem was compounded by the fact that his attraction was...well...not the expected. He had to keep his eyes closed in the locker room for fear of embarrassment. Like he didn't already feel like enough of a freak, now he had to deal with a socially unacceptable sexuality?  
  
Acceptance was never something Dib got easily. His head was huge and oddly shaped, and his hair stuck up like a scythe no matter what he did. His obsession with the paranormal had labeled him a geek from an early age. The last thing he needed was-  
  
Oh, forget this. All this thinking was doing him absolutely no good, just depressing him more. He opened his window wide, then shimmied down the ropeladder to his bike, confident he wouldn't attract Membrane or Gaz's attention.   
  
Not that he ever did anyway...  
  
~  
  
Dib pulled up alongside Zim's house, trying to be quiet and not knock into a lawn gnome. He crept up to the house, belly to the ground, straining to hear Zim's voice. Sounded like he was going into another rant...good time to listen, get a jump on the next plan-  
  
His thought was cut though by one phrase, a phrase that rang clearly through the night- "And tomorrow, I will declare my love to DIB!"  
  
  



	2. I Can Teach You

Notes: No, I still don't own Zim. Anyway, this chapter includes some sexual content (not Dib/Zim yet), so you've been warned. Also, the name Optic_Nerve is a reference to one of my fave comics, Optic Nerve, by Adrian Tomine. Go read it now!  
_  
  
Zim's plot was brilliant.   
  
Dib's main power, as far as he could tell, was his mind. Despite his lack of physical strength, his brain was what gave him the power to keep coming back with mechanical devices and his (he grudgingly admitted) ingenious plots to try and stop Zim.   
  
Therefore, the simple answer was to destroy Dib's brain. Mere nanotechnology had failed the first time, and he wasn't willing to try his luck again. Strapping him down for surgery would be difficult, and he wasn't very good with human anatomy anyway.  
  
So, go from the outside. He had discovered while studying the humans for the past few years that they were at their weakest when they were emotionally injured. So, hurt Dib's heart and he could kill Dib's brain.  
  
And what better way to do it, emotionally and spiritually crush his soul, then hold his heart already?  
  
"Tomorrow, I declare my love for DIB!"  
_  
  
Weakness  
Chapter 2: I Can Teach You  
_  
  
Dib shimmied back up the rope that led to his room's window. He flipped in, his head still spinning.  
  
"You're back."  
  
Dib started, then looked over at his bed. Gaz was seated there with her bookbag, hitting buttons on her GameSlave. "Wait."  
  
Dib sighed, accustomed to his sister's ways, and waited until the tiny machine sounded its "winner" noise. "How many times have you won that game, anyway?"  
  
Gaz ignored the snide remark. "Help me with this." She placed her machine to the side and unzipped her bookbag, pulling out her science textbook. "I don't get osmosis."  
  
"Well, its really simple, Gaz-"  
  
"Good. Its pages 147-155, review questions 1-10. Ill get it tomorrow."  
  
"But-"  
  
Gaz picked up her GameSlave and walked out of the room, leaving a silently fuming Dib. He sighed and picked up the textbook, flipping to page 155. Simple stuff. He penciled in the answers to the questions, then set the book aside. Gaz's notebooks and textbooks were filled with Dib's handwriting. It was one of the perks of having a genius brother. How else could she play her GameSlave all day and still pass?  
  
Now, back to the quandary at hand-Zim.  
  
Zim was his enemy. His sworn enemy, the driving force of his anger and his abiding obsession. It would make perfect sense for him to be in love with Zim, except for the fact he hated Zim's guts. But for Zim to love him, this threw a whole new perspective on his studies. Taken for a purely scientific standpoint, this was a breakthrough. Zim was capable of human emotion! Well, he already kind of knew that-Zim was very capable of maliciousness, anger, and delusions of grandeur.  
  
But love! This was a whole new step for Zim studies-he was capable of the higher emotions. He decided to sign online and see who was in the Swollen Eyeball chatroom. Odds were he could find someone to compare notes with.  
  
the chatroom was pretty slow, despite the fact it was about 11:00 at night. However, the Eyes were from all over the country, so busy times were anyone's guess. Usually things started really hopping around 2 in the morning, but Dib couldn't stay up that late (it WAS a school night) so he decided to see if any of the 3 people in the chat could help him out.   
  
InvestigatorDib:does anyone know anything about alien emotion?  
MulderGirl:Nope, sorry  
AsTrObOt: nm  
Optic_Nerve:What kind?  
InvestigatorDib: love  
Optic_Nerve:You consider love an alien emotion?  
  
Dib paused for a second. Something about the way that guy had phrased that sentence worried him. Regardless, he needed the information. He typed:  
  
InvestigatorDib: in this case Im studying, yes I do  
  
He waited for a response. An alert flashed on his screen. Optic_Nerve wanted a private chat. It was easier to trade notes in a single chat place, so he clicked okay.  
  
InvestigatorDib: hello, can you help me?  
Optic_Nerve: Im sure I can, how old are you?  
  
What an odd question.  
  
InvestigatorDib: 15  
Optic_Nerve: Im 18, that's old enough  
  
Dib paused. this was getting weird. Curiosity pressed him on.   
  
InvestigatorDib: old enough for what?  
Optic_Nerve: This. grabs InvestigatorDib and kisses him roughly  
  
Dib turned bright red. he glanced around to make sure his father or Gaz weren't lurking around.  
  
InvestigatorDib: you misunderstand me, Im looking for information on aliens  
Optic_Nerve: I understand plenty. licks your face You're a lonely boy, so am I. Why not just let go a little? runs his fingers down your chest and to your pants I can teach you about love, the physical part anyway. tugs at your waistline, pulling it down slowly  
Dib turned an even deeper red. Despite himself, he could feel the things occurring like phantom images in his mind...ghost touches of a tongue, a hand-what would if feel like to just let go? what would it be like to just be accepted by another human being, just for a few minutes, even if never again?  
  
What would it feel like to be accepted?  
  
He flinched out his arm, shutting the computer off. He wiped a little of the sweat off his forehead. he had been so close to giving in.  
  
"Damn." he muttered. "I really AM lonely."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Check Yes or No

AN: Hey, everybody! Despite some completely disturbed reviewers (yeah, Optic Nerve was a sicko, but wev'e all reckoned with that before, ne?) Ive decided to continue for the mass amout of peope that seem to enjoy this fic. (I love you all!) This will be the last update until the week after next cause I'm going to California with my family, so ill work on the story on the plane..oh, and I forgot to thank Arm&Leg for prereading the first chapter. Thank you so much! Everyone go read A Strange Twist of Fate for some truly ace D/Z slash. Enough from me, on with the fic!  
_  
  
The waves crashed against the beach. The sun set in a million pastel mint hues. Beautiful, just beautiful...  
  
If only he wasn't alone.  
  
Another beautiful sunset, absolutely shot to hell, cause he had noone to watch it with. There were cute couples to the left and right of him, per usual, slobbering on eachother like dogbones. As usual, noone for Dib.  
  
Sigh.  
  
He rolled over on his side, trailing his fingers through the sand. He was startled by a voice.   
  
"Hello, Dib."  
  
What a nice voice, so deep and resonant...made for radio. He glanced over. He couldn't see this mysterious stranger's face, he was sillouhetted by the setting sun...but it looked like his body was made for TV. Dib's heart jumped. "Hi."  
  
"Why are you sitting all by yourself?"  
  
Oh, that voice. "Noone else to sit with."  
  
"Why wouldn't anyone want to sit with you?" The stranger sat beside him.   
  
Dib rolled onto his stomach, head in his arms. "I don't know. Everyone thinks I'm a loser."  
  
"That's silly." Suddenly Dib felt the strangers fingers running through his hair, setting little bolts of electricity through his scalp. he sighed a little at the calming touch. "Just cause you guessed the truth..."  
  
"Yeah..." Dib moved a little, closer to the man. "Do I know you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then...how come you're just here now? Like, why not before?"  
  
"I wanted to wait for the right day."   
  
Dib looked up at the stranger for the first time. His eyes were a bright blue. A chill suddenly went through his body as the man took his chin in hand and tilted it upwards. "I wanted to wait for the right day to declare my love-"  
  
and then they kissed, and it was beautiful, it was everything Dib had heard about, it was warm and nice and sent sparks shooting through his body-  
  
and then he opened his eyes and came face to face with the pale red obelisks and the reptilian tongue hissing "Dib..."  
_  
  
Weakness  
Chapter 3: Check Yes or No  
_  
  
"GYAAHHH!!!" Dib sat straight up in bed, cold sweat dotting his face. He fumbled his glasses off his desk and looked at the clock.  
  
6:45. Great. 15 minutes till he woulda gotten up anyway. He reached over and shut his alarm off, still shivering. Zim...Zim;s green lips against his...he shuddered a little. He pulled off his sleepwear (an undershirt) and changed his boxers (cotton plaid), then threw on his shirt and pants. Last but not least the trenchcoat.  
  
Dib always wore his trenchcoat, no matter what. Most people only wore coats when it was cold, and then only outside. However, Dib liked his trenchcoat so much he wore it all the time, 24-7, weather notwithstanding. He liked the way it looked, the way it billowed in the wind behind him like Superman's cape. It made him feel...important, somehow. He still had the coat he wore way back in 6th grade hanging in the closet, but since he went through his growth spurts it only hung to his knees. He had saved up his birthday cash last year and bought a new one of black leather-man, it stunk on hot days but it was SO worth it.   
  
He went into the bathroom and splashed some water on his head, then used the comb to maybe try and make that weird part stick down...it was no use, that stalk of hair still stuck up like it was wired. He sighed, combed the rest of his head and set off for breakfast.  
  
Gaz was already at the table, playing her GameSlave with a NutriGrain bar stuck in her mouth. Every now and then, another centimeter of the breakfast bar would disappear between her lips.   
  
"Hello, Gaz-"  
  
"Quiet. I'm on the 10th level."   
  
He shrugged and poured himself some cereal. Same old Gaz.  
_  
  
They walked to skool quietly as always.   
  
"Hey, Dib?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
Dib goggled down at his sister. It was astounding that she had even looked up from her game, much less noticed her brother's condition.   
  
"Nope, I'm fine." He gave a weak grin.  
  
She cocked an eyebrow. "You look like you're going to vomit."   
  
"I'm fine, Gaz." They walked into the skoolyard. Dib glanced around quickly for Zim. After that creepy dream this morning, no WAY was he gonna let the alien boy corner him...there he was! Zim stood alone on the edge of the courtyard, looking for someone. Probably Dib. Dib gulped, then backed toward the door. He hid in the doorway until the bell rang, and the class filed inside.  
  
Mrs. Bitters glared at the class. Yes, still Mrs. Bitters. Everytime Dib thought he might escape her iron fist, a teacher died or quit and Mrs. Bitters took the unfortunate victims place. Rumors of poisoning were never proven, but highly suspected. "Now then, class, begins another day of your mildly pathetic lives. Those of you who are capable of reading, turn to page 45 in your history textbook..."  
  
Dib flipped the assignment open, then stuck a UFO magazine in the textbook. It was his standard practice to completely ignore everything the teacher said and get the assignment from Gaz after class. Things went along normally until a note landed on Dib's desk.  
  
He glanced around, then unfolded it. It said:  
  
"Dib-  
  
I like you. Do you like me? Check:  
__Yes  
__No  
  
Secret Admirer"  
  
Dib glared. It must have been a note from Zim. He glared over at Zim, who glanced at him and smiled. Smiled? Since when did Zim SMILE?!?  
  
He quickly checked no, and added "Rot in hell, alien scum" before folding it and passing it back.  
  
A few minutes later, a girl near the front of the room burst into tears and ran out the door.  
  
Dib sighed and slumped down in his desk. "That could have gone better."  
  
  
  



	4. We Dont Want You

Chapter 3.5-A short Announcement...  
  
(We see the author of Weakness, Harmony, sitting on a nice plush couch. She is blowing a bubble-pipe. Dib sits next to her, eyeing her cautiously. She keeps scootching torwards him. He glups.)  
  
Harmony: Hello, everyone! Im back from my vacation, feeling rested and resfreshed and all that...and I already have a new chapter of Weakness all ready to go! Im ready to really go into high gear with this one, I have alot of good ideas...and pretty soon, its gonna be time for this slash to live up to its genre.  
  
Dib: (blushing) Harmony, come on. Please dont pair me with Zim! He's...green!  
  
Harmony:You know you like it.   
  
Dib: Its disgusting! Hes an ALIEN! He's my worst enemy!  
  
Harmony: Hush up or Im turning this into a DAGR.  
  
Dib: DAGR? Whats a DAGR?  
  
Harmony: Dib and Gaz Romance.  
  
Dib: *eep* Ill be good.  
  
Harmony: Aww, youre cute when youre scared. (pats Dib on the head) Anyhoo, isnce this is a fanfic, and you all have been so loverly about posting nice reviews and whatnot...I figured Id leave this part up to you, the readers-How much do YOU want to see?  
  
Dib: What do you mean...see?  
  
Harmony: Well, my darling little paranormalist, this fic WILL have sexual content. Its already had a little, and there is more on the way. I will not cut any events out of the fic, the stuff thats there stays there. However, there are many, many ways to handle sexual scenes...I could write them anywhere from PG to R. (There will be no NC-17 content, Im not willing to go that far.) I want to know what you, the viewer, think. If you want to influebnce my descision, eitehr email me at ninjawasabi@aol.com or lave me a review for THIS chapter telling me what you think. (Heres a hint-Im also looking for prereaders for my new IZ fic, Northern Lights. So if you email me, youll prolly get tapped for preread duties fi youre willing.)  
  
Dib: Oh...um...hey, everyone, you know whats neat?  
  
Harmony: What?  
  
Dib:Celibacy! Right? You know? Eehehehe....  
  
Harmony: Aww...he's so cute...anyway, on with chapter 4! And be sure to email or leave a review!  
  
Dib: Ehehe...heh...  
-  
Weakness  
Chapter 4-We Dont Want You Back  
-  
Dib was nervous. He flinched at the teachers scream.   
  
"You worthless child! Come back here so we may finish what we have begun!"  
  
The lunchbell rang.   
  
Miss Bitters growled. "Fine. All of you leave like the weaker one did. Be prepared to pay for it afterwards."  
  
The kids filed out of the schoolroom, all murmuring to themselves about the odd occurence. noone really knew the girl that had run out of the room a few minutes ago, she was a loner. Didnt say anything unless she was called on, didnt do anything unless she was asked to. Dib was hard-pressed to think of her name. However, he felt responsible (at least a little) for what had just happened, so he set off to find her.  
  
He paced the halls, went through the library, patrolled the drinking fountains-nothing. Finnaly it occured to him, since it was lunch, that she might be eating in the cafeteria. At least, Dib hoped she was-he was out of places to look and he was pretty hungry.  
  
He charged into the cafeteria, pausing by the vending machines to catch his breath. There she was! A little pale girl, two long brown braids hanging down into her sack lunch. She sat along, shoulders shuddering occasionally. Dib's stomach twisted- that was HIS fault.   
  
He looked over at the food line-way, way too long. Vender-bought goodies would have to do for today. He bought some chips and a soda, then walked over to the table and sat across from her.  
  
"Umm..." (oh man, whats her name...oh yeah.) "Fin?"   
  
She snuffled a little and looked up, then she turned bright red. "Oh, um, is this your spot?" She began to gather her lunch. "ill move-"  
  
"No, wait!" He waved his hands. "I just want to talk to you!"  
  
"Oh." She looked up at him, eyes wide and brimming. "Yeah?"  
  
(Oh, man...Im awful with this stuff...) "Umm...well, that "alien scum" thing, it wasnt ment for you...I thought you were someone else, see."  
  
"Oh, you mean Zim?" She giggled. "Why would HE write you a love letter?"  
  
Dib sighed. "Um, I dont wanna get into it."  
  
Fin's eyes widened. "Ohhh...I see. You know, I always guessed..."  
  
Dib squinted one eye. "Guessed? Guessed what?"  
  
"That you and Zim were um...you know..."  
  
"No, I dont..."   
  
"You know...an item."  
  
"A-A-A WHAT?!" Dib sputtered. "Me and Zim?! Oh, no, no, no no..." He shook his head vehemently. "Me and Zim arent-were never gonna-I couldnt-"  
  
"Oh, its okay." She sighed. "I can deal with the fact youre gay."  
  
"I-um..." Dib was so red blood vessles were in danger of bursting in his face. He sighed. What was the point of lying to her about it now? "...could ya keep it to yourself?"  
  
"Sure." She smiled. "Um...I know you dont wanna date me...but could we stil be friends?"  
  
"Friends?" Dib blinked. "Um, yeah! Yeah, that would be great!"   
  
"Cool!" She laughed. "Well, this actually turned out better then I thought it would..."  
  
Dib smiled. A friend...This was new. Noone, in the history of his life, had ever ASKED to be his friend. To be honest, he'd never really HAD any friends. This day was looking up.  
  
-  
  
"Faggot!"  
  
Dib landed on the ground-hard. Dirt gritted between his teeth. He struggled to his knees, stalk of hair hanging in his eyes. His tormentor, a tall football player named Karl, laughed and kicked some dirt at him. "Watch your step, you scrawny fag."  
  
"I didnt mean to..." Dib cughed a little. he had made the mistake of stepping on Karl's foot in the hallway. When the end-of-the-day bell had rung, the angry jock and two of his buddys had dragged him out to the baseball field and were currently giving him a beating. One of them picked him up, arms held behind his back. "Oww! Cut it out!"  
  
"'oww! cut it awwwt!'" Karl howled in a high falsetto. "Aww, the little fag dosent like to play...maybe hed be more comfortable on his knees?"  
  
They howled with laughet and forced him to his knees. Dib winced when his knees bit into the hard packed dirt. They yanked his trenchcoat off and threw it to the side. "We need a little room here, queeny, hope ya dont mind!"  
  
"I-mmmph!" They forced him face down into the dirt.   
  
"Bite the ground, Dibby-poo." They laughed, showering blows down on him. Dib moaned, trying to squirm away from their fists. Suddenly, the blows stopped. He heard three dull thumps as Karl and his buddies landed on the ground. He sat up, rubbing his head. He rolled his shoulders and moaned. There would be plenty of bruises to remember this by...he glanced around, confused.  
  
"Are you alright, Dib?"  
  
He glared over in the direction of the voice. "Zim. What do YOU want."  
  
"I just saved your life. You could thank me."  
  
"Never!"   
  
Zim sighed. "Alright, DIB. We'll do this the hard way." He pulled a space-type gun from behind his back.  
  
"No!" Dib tried to scrabble away, then the beam hit him and everything went black.  
  
-  
  
"Uhn..." Dib tried to sit up. A heavy weight sat on his chest. He strained to look, but could only discenrn metal. It was rumbling, faintly. He raised his arms to try and slowly removie it-  
  
It sprang up, vacant blue eyes studying him happily. "Helll-oo-oo!!"  
  
"Hi." Dib looked around. "Where AM I?"  
  
"Youre right here!" it giggled.   
  
"Yeah, okay. Can you please, um, get off my chest?"  
  
"Okay!" It jumped off. "I have a cupcake!"   
  
"Thats nice." Dib glanced around. Well. He had been laying on a couch in what looked like a normal living toom...  
  
..except for that huge web of metal tubing and screens in the celing...  
  
"Augh!" He jumped up. "Zim! Zim, where are you?!?"   
  
"Im right here." Zim walked up to him and handed him a cold bag. "Put this on your head."  
  
Dib threw it on the ground. "What is it, an alien mind-control device?"  
  
"No. Its ice." Zim sighed and picked up the icepack. "So youre awake?"  
  
"What have you done to me?!?"  
  
Zim laughed. "Calm down, Dib. All Ive done is bandage your wounds." Dib glanced down at his arms-they were covered in bandages. "I used a biotic compound known as Neosporin...GIR said he saw it in a commercial."  
  
"GIR?"   
  
"Me! Me me me me meee-ee!!" The robot did a cartwheel and landed in a trashcan. Dib laughed a little despite himself, then he glared over at Zim. "Why are you being nice to me?"  
  
Zim sat on the couch and gestured to the seat next to him. "Sit down, Dib."  
  
"Ill stand, thanks." He folded his arms. "What is it, Zim?"  
  
Zim sighed. "Well, Dib, I think you need to know that the Irken invasion of the Planet Earth has been called off."  
  
Dib's eyes widened, then narrowed. "This is a trick, isnt it? Youre just trying to lure me into a state of false security so you can take over more easily!"  
  
"No, Dib. Its no trick. Here, watch this." He pressed a button on the wall. A screen descended from the celing. A bit of static flashed across the screen, and then 2 aliens appeared.   
  
"Zim?" one said.  
  
"Yes, oh almighty tallest?" Zim bowed befor ethe screen.  
  
"Why are you calling us? You know we dont want you back here. I told you before, we have no intention of invading the earth. So stop calling already!" The screen went to black.  
  
Zim looked over at Dib. "See? No invasion. I no longer pose a threat to you or your people Dib...however, as you can see, I clearly have no where else to go."  
  
Dib blinked. This HAD to be a trick. "So why are you telling me all this, Zim? Im your ENEMY."  
  
"Dib." He sighed. "I dont WANT to be your enemy. Youre the only kid I know here, and Ill need help to make it on my own. Couldnt we just get along, maybe?"  
  
"I...um..." Dib shook his head. This was, well...unexpected.  
  
"I need to learn more about the earth, its customs, its inhabitants...if you teach me about your world, I will teach you about Irk. Anythng you would like to know, I can tell you." Zim paused. "As long as you dont put me on an autopsy table."  
  
"Umm..." Dib sighed. he despized Zim, yes, but as a paranormalist the opportunity was too much to pass up. He stuck his hand out. "Deal."  
  
Zim grinned. "Wonderful." They shook, a little tersley.   
  
Dib yanked his hand back. "Um, I have to get home for dinner. Thanks...for bnadaging me up and stuff."  
  
"Its not a problem. Would you like to come over tomorow and start learning about Irk?"  
  
"Um ,sure." Dib turned to the door.   
  
"Dib?"  
  
He looked over his shoulder. "Yeah?"  
  
"What is a 'faggot'?"  
  
Dib blinked. "Um...its, um...a guy that likes otehr guys....instead of girls....you know...to love?"  
  
Zim nodded. "And thats a bad thing on this planet?"  
  
Dib looked away. "Some people think so."  
  
Zim shrugged. "Thats very odd...on Irk, it is standard practice to pair the males with the males. Oh well. Thank you, Dib, and Ill see you tomorow."  
  
"Umm...okay. Bye." He charged out the door.  
  
Zim watched him run, then turned to his trashcan and tipped it over. GIR clunked on the floor. "GIR. I need you to polish the vootrunner. Make it shine."  
  
"Yes, sir!" GIR trotted off.   
  
"Computer! Access vocal log!"  
  
The computer groaned out the request. A tone sounded.   
  
"Operation Impending Dib-Crushing Phase 1." he paused. "Gaining Dib's trust, I feel, is going better then expected. The beating in the baseball field was a stroke of luck. Using his injuries, I drew him into the house and bandaged his wounded arms. Although he rejected my overtures of kindness and acted quite suspicious, he still agreed to teach me about earth. I will have to risk some security, but once Dib is crushed permanently what he knows will not matter in the slightest."  
  
"All in all, I believe I will hold Dib in the palm of my hand by the end of my month."  
  
  
  



	5. Ill Make You Wish I Was Never Born

A/N: Hi, everyone! Yeah, I had too many ideas while FF.net was down. After seening NanoZim, I had to do a special chapter just for Dib and Gaz's relationship...they have an odd one, dont you think? And yet, its nice. Theres something to be said for affection in any form. Im sorry there isnt any slash yetfor those of you who were hoping so desperately to see some soon. But I want to make this series as plausible as possible, and although it would be fun to have Dib divetackle Zim in the first chapter, it would be really OOC. If you want a rough estimate, itll be at least another 3 chapters before ANYTHING happens between them. Dont worry, we're getting there, and I hope you enjoy it anyway...please R&R!   
-  
Weakness Chapter 5  
Ill Make You Wish I Was Never Born  
-  
It was already dark out when Dib straggled in the door. Gaz sat on the couch, munching on some ordered pizza in one hand and playing her Game Slave with the other. "Dib, Dad's gotta film his show tonight so I ordered a-what the hell happened to you?"  
  
"Nothing." Dib tossed his bookbag by the door and flomped down next to her. "Is Mysterious Mysteries on yet?"  
  
"Its about half an hour away." Gaz looked her brother up and down, hitting pause on the game. "And bullshit nothing happened to you, youre covered in bandages. Was it Karl and those jocks?"  
  
Dib looked away, picking at one of the band-aids on his arm. He wondered how many of the bandaids were actually necessary and how many of them were there just becuase of Zim's lack of knowledge about first aid. Quite a few, probaly. They were wearing cleats, though...  
  
"It was them!" Gaz's voice rose. "Ill destroy that bastard!"  
  
"No, Gaz, dont." Dib worried about his sister. Over the past few months, she had becoem incredibly protective of her older brother. He wasnt sure why. He figured it had something to do with what had happened last summer-but he didnt want to think about that right now. It was behind him. Suffice it to say that long sleeves were one of the many advantages of wearing a trenchcoat constantly.  
  
"Dont tell me what to do, Dib. I'll destroy you too if you stand in my way."  
  
He sighed. "Fine, Gaz. Just...dont get yourself hurt."  
  
"Dont worry about me, Ill be fine." Gaz finished off her pizza and hit the start button on her game. The tinny music started again. "Did they call you a faggot?"  
  
Dib started. "Yeah, why?"  
  
Gaz gritted her teeth. Her thumb jammed down on the buttons. "Those dumb jerks. They do that all the time. Its not like its even a bad thing."  
  
Dib shrugged, idly surfing channels. "Think Dad would want one of those for his birthday?"  
  
Gaz raised an eyebrow, not looking up. "A shoe organizer? I dont even know if he wears shoes. I think he does, but theyre probaly the same pair every day anyway."  
  
Dib smirked. "I would assume he wears shoes, Gaz, he works with toxic chemicals and-"  
  
The phone rang. Gaz reached over with her free arm, grabbed it, and tossed it to Dib. Dib glared at his sister, then cleared his throat. "Um, hello?"  
  
"Hello, is this Dib?" A slightly shy female's voice.  
  
"Fin!" Dib exclaimed in suprise. "Hi!"   
  
A dull thud sounded from beside him. Gaz had dropped her Game Slave. She stooped over to pick it back up, not taking her eyes off Dib.  
  
"Hey, Dib." He could hear vauge strains of David Bowie coming in over the background. "I was looking for you so we could walk home, maybe, and I found your trenchcoat laying by the baseball feild. It looked kind of beat up. What happened?" Her voice was concerned.  
  
Dib tried to reply with nonchalance. "Oh, just a couple of jerk jocks, you know."  
  
"Oh, Dib!" Fin sighed. "I hate those bastards. Did they hurt you badly?"  
  
"No, not really." He gave his arms and torso one more precursory glance. "I do miss my trenchcoat tho, this afternoon has been so weird I just forgot about it."  
  
"Really? What happened?"  
  
Dib proceeded to relate the tale of Zim's rescue mission and first-aid ministrations to Fin. He left out the part about the deal they had made, of course. He was soon aware of a pair of eyes boring into the side of his head. He looked over to see Gaz staring at him as if in a trance. "One sec, Fin-is something wrong, Gaz?"  
  
"No." She continued to stare anyway.   
  
Dib sighed. "Listen, I think I should go. Gaz is acting funny."  
  
"Okay, thats fine. Listen, you wanna go out for lunch tomorow? We can go to McMeaty's, you can bring Zim if you want."  
  
Why would he want to bring Zim? "Um, sure! I dont think Zim will go, but ill bring some money. Ill see you tomorow, and dont forget my trenchcoat, okay?"  
  
"No problem. Ill give it to ya before school. See ya."   
  
"Bye!" Dib hung up, an odd smile on his face. He had a friend! A simultaneously elating and depressing feeling-elating because he finnaly had a companion, depressing because it reminded him of how long he did without. He turned to Gaz, who was staring at him with the same odd expression on her face. "What is it, Gaz?"  
  
She blinked. "A girl called here for you. Zim's being nice to you. What the hell is going on?"  
  
Dib snorted. "Well, thats nice. Maybe theyr'e just nice people."  
  
"Yeah, one of those nice people's has tried to kill you more times then I can count on one hand. And girls dont call here for you EVER."  
  
Dib sighed. "You arent exactly cheering me up here, Gaz."  
  
She shrugged. "Its true, tho. So what gives?"  
  
"Well, me and Zim have kind of a deal now. Strictly professional, of course, just for my paranormal studies."  
  
Gaz shook her head. "And you trust him after all this time?"  
  
Dib shrugged. "He seemed sincere."  
  
Gaz flipped a new game out of a pocket on the couch and turned it on. A new strain of digital music joined the general blare. "Whatever. Your shows on."  
  
Dib and Gaz passed the rest of the evening in silence, Dib watching TV, Gaz playing her game. Barely a word passed between them, and yet, when Gaz slumped over asleep in his lap, Dib couldnt help but smile.   
-  
It was a cold day, and Dib was shivering. Gaz had tried to make him put on a windbreaker, but it did no good-it was trenchcoat or nothing for him. Giving up and calling him a world-class moron (which he probaly was, he figured, for refusing a windbreaker on a day like this) they had proceeded to skool. There Fin waited in the yard, the coat slung over her shoulder. She saw Dib and rushed over to him. "Dib! Put this on, you moron, its freezing!"  
  
Dib chose to ignore Gaz's smug look. "Thanks. I hope it wasnt any trouble-"  
  
She waved a hand. "No trouble at all. You want I should beat up the jocks?"  
  
"Yes!" Gaz shouted, pumping a fist in the air.   
  
Dib glared at her, then smiled back at Fin. "No, thats okay. Thanks for the offer."  
  
She laughed. "No need to thank me. Ive been looking for an excuse with that dumb Karl since the beginning of the year. Hey, Gaz." She waved at Gaz, who was studying her with the eye of someone putting meat up for auction. "Umm...is there soemthing on my face?"   
  
Gaz turned to her borther, a smile on her face. "I like this one. You can keep her."  
  
"Umm...thanks?" Dib was confused. He wanted to ask his sister exactly what she meant, but Gaz had already wandered off to sit under a nearby tree and play her GameSlave. Or so he thought...  
-  
Karl walked to school, loudly grunting the lead guitar part from an old Metallica song. He headbanged down the street, growling with empthasis the downbeat leading into the next "classic". He had a date with Stacey tonight, the football team was 5-0, and the little dweebs in the school were all scared shitless of him. Life was good.  
  
He thought back to the kid yesterday, Dib. Man, that was hilarious. That skinny little freak had collapsed under him. It would teach him to have a little more respect for other peoples-  
  
The sound of clanking came behid him. He paused. "hello?"  
  
An angry robotic voice replied. "Hello, Karl." He turned to see a tall skeletonlike robot glowering down on him. He whimpered. "I heard you were picking on my big brother."  
-  
Gaz grinned with contentment at the "ENEMY DESTROYED" announcement that flashed on the screen. She was glad that she had convinced her father to let her test out the radio-controlled fighter robot he had designed the week before. Professor Membrane was such a scatterbrained guy that he had forgotten to ask for the controls back, and Gaz wasnt about to offer...It had been a good fight, Karl a worthy foe-well, as worthy as jockholes got, anyway. It was a pity the blood had smeared the cameral lens so she couldnt see the final victory.  
  
"Gaz."   
  
She looked up. Zim was staring down at her innocently. "What is it, Zim? Im busy."  
  
"I was just wondering where you brother was. Have you seen-"  
  
"He's inside." Gaz nodded at the building. "Oh, and Zim?"  
  
"Yes?"   
  
"Hurt him, and Ill make you wish I was never born."  
  
Zim squinted one eye. "Oooo-kay." He wandered torwards the building. Gaz pulled her regular GameSlave out of her backpack. Now all that was left was waiting for Karl. It was gonna be a good day.  
  



	6. Hormones

AN: Finally, I get to write Chapter 6! Well, I got it done at least. I also get to finally segue into some slash possibilities ^_^ Fair warning, Zim is going to start acting fairly OOC, you'll see why...oh, I'm gonna have FUN with this one. Im sorry this one's a little off, its been a LONG week...but the next one will be better, I swear it. Skool in 3 days-gah!!! Okay, sorry, enjoy-and befroe I forget, much love to CosmicRhapsody for prereading this sucker. Good luck with your spine. ^_^  
-  
Weakness Chapter 6  
Hormones  
-  
The day had gone by quickly, at least for Dib. Going out to lunch with Fin was actually a lot of fun. First off, she had insisted on bringing Gaz along. Dib had been worried about his little sister having to eat lunch alone, but Fin had seen her in the lunchline, collared her, and dragged her out into the sun. When it turned out Gaz hadn't brought any money, Fin even offered to pay. She was really nice and pretty smart, and Gaz loved her almost immediately. The silence they usually shared was replaced by her happy chatter and jokes. Dib was honestly amazed that she was interested in him at all, but then again he was amazed when anyone in school gave him the time of day, so he wasn't really a good judge. He was just thrilled he had made a friend.  
  
However, Fin had to leave directly after school for a dentist appointment, leaving Dib to walk home alone. he made it about halfway when a voice came from behind him. "Dib? Did you forget?"  
  
"Oh yeah." He turned, smiling a little weakly. "Um, hi Zim..."  
  
Zim gave him a funny look. "Are you going to try and kill me?"   
  
Dib shook his head. "Are you?"  
  
"No. Lets go to my house."   
  
It was only about a block away, but even that silence was awkward. Zim kept glancing over at him. Dib would glance back, clear his throat or chuckle embarrassedly. Zim was an odd creature to be sure. Dib didn't really know how to handle the situation they were about to get into-after all, they were going from combatant enemies to almost lab partners. Dib couldn't help but wonder where this would lead-was it possible that he and Zim could be friends? Not likely, he would have thought, but then Zim did take good care of him yesterday-  
  
"We're here." Zim pressed a little button on the fence to deactivate the lawn gnomes. Their red eyes went black. Zim opened the door, arm extended to Dib. "After you."  
  
"Um." Dib stepped in. Zim looked around suspiciously, then shut the door.   
  
Inside, GIR was running laps around the couch. "Hello, master! I'm being healthy! The TV said that excersize-oooh, is that a hippo?" He hopped up on Dib's shoulders, peering into his eyes. "Hiii-poooo? I smell hippo!"  
  
Zim sighed. "No, GIR. That is Dib. He was here yesterday, remember?"  
  
GIR clapped his paws. "Oh yeah! The stupid human!" He frowned. "I was hoping you were the candyman."  
  
Dib rummaged around in his pocket until he found some gum. He unwrapped it and handed it to the robot. "Is this okay?"  
  
"Yay! Gum!" GIR went about making the biggest mess of it he could with his stainless steel teeth. "You're nice!"  
  
Dib laughed. "He's kinda cute, Zim. Why's he so...um...exciteable?"  
  
"He's ADVANCED."  
  
"Oh." Dib smothered another giggle. "He's also stuck to the TV."  
  
"GIR!" Zim stalked over to the TV and pulled his robot unit off with a loud smack. "Go down to the lab and tidy up."  
  
"But, I don't wanna miss the Scary Monkey Show!"  
  
"You can watch it on the big wall of TVs. Make sure the parents are disengaged. Now go!"  
  
GIR's eye's flashed red. "Yes sir right away sir!" They then went back to their docile blue as he ran giggling to the kitchen.   
  
Zim sighed and sunk down on the couch, head in his hands. "I'm beginning to wonder exactly how in the name of the Tallest he's supposed to be advanced in the first place."  
  
Dib shook his head. "Slow down. I want all of this. Now, who are the tallest, and what are they taller then?"  
  
"Everyone else."  
  
"Umm." He pulled out a taperecorder and turned it on. "Explain how that works, please, clearly into the mic."  
  
Over the next couple hours, Zim outlined the hierarchy of Irk for Dib's tape recorder. He also fielded question on the militaristic culture, although he only lightly skimmed over the plans for interplanetary domination. No need to tell him everything.  
  
The tape recorder made a loud click. Dib sighed. "The tape is up." He pulled it out and labeled it, then stuck it in his pocket.  
  
Zim smiled. "I trust you asked all of the questions you wanted to?"  
  
Dib nodded. "Yeah, for today anyway. Tomorow I'd like to focus on the social aspects of Irken life-friends, family, things like that."  
  
Zim laughed a little, looking away. "Well, that wont take long. Friends and family are forbidden when they interfere with official duties. Keeping a friend on Irk is an amazing accomplishment-the second the Tallest deem that it is influencing you in a way they do not like, they can force you to give it up. "   
  
Dib shook his head. "That's so bizarre...Irk has a very odd culture."  
  
"I am aware it may seem odd to an earthen, but to us it is a very efficient way of life." Zim pulled out a notepad. "It is my turn to ask you some questions now."  
  
Dib checked his watch. "Oh, shit! I have to get home, I have to get Gaz her dinner-"  
  
Zim sighed. "Alright. May I ask you one question?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"How is it, exactly, that you got so TALL?"  
  
Dib thought about it. While he had gotten a little bit taller, it wasn't that much. He was still a shrimp compared to most of the boys in his class. However, he was easily a few heads taller then Zim. He shrugged. "Puberty. Growth hormones. I hit puberty and grew."  
  
"I see. Well, thank you, Dib."  
  
"Umm...yourewelcomeseeyabye." Dib picked up his things and walked to the door, spitting out farewells. He was obviously still a little uncomfortable with their arrangement.  
  
Zim watched him go, waiting a few seconds for the coast to clear. "Computer!"  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
"Did the vocal log record this meeting?"  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
He chortled. "Fiiiinally. Inchy by inchy-inch, Dib's soul will be MINE. Now, then, take me to the DNA comparison/mutation lab."  
  
Yes, sir!" A chute opened in the floor. He shot down a tube into a room with a computer and a machine that looked like a cross between a blender, a sattelite dish, and a very large microwave. A standard computer sat beside the mess, whirring with numbers. A single human hair was suspended in the blender-like mechanism. Zim punched keys on it, biting his lip.  
  
One of the things he had studied during his time on earth was the DNA. He was particularly interested in how human DNA compared with Irken DNA, and how he could use that to his advantage. He had found that human and Irkens shared a lot of like hormones and chromosomes. One of those, he believed, was the growth hormone. He had discovered that the growth hormone was stimulated in a stage of human growth known as "puberty." Somehow, his growth hormone remained inactivated. It was his intention to use the trigger in the hair from the human DNA to activate his own and hopefully grow a little bit, making it easier to fade into Earth society.  
  
He went into the microwave, letting the door slam shut behind him. He began to spin. A green ray cast on him as he slowly revolved. This should do the trick-  
  
"YAYY! BURRITO!" GIR charged into the lab, pounding butons on the microwave-like machine-the one that, unfortunately, contained Zim. The beam changed to a blasting laser. Zim screeched, flailing around, finally finding the stop button and slamming the door open. "GIR!"  
  
"Yes my master!"  
  
"Why did you DO that?!"  
  
GIR pouted. "You looked like a burrito. Why arent you a burrito now?"  
  
Zim shook his head. He studied the computer screen. Well. A few more hormonal changes had been triggered, but it shouldn't interfere with the growth element. "No harm done, I suppose. I am going to bed. Do not awaken me before school begins."  
  
"Yes sir okay sir gnight sir!"  
-  
He wandered through the darkness, confused as he'd ever been. His body felt...strange. Unlike it had ever felt before. He could feel new nerve endings twitching through him. There was something he wanted, something he needed...  
  
A door appeared in front of him. Pausing a second to regain his composure, he opened it-  
  
to see Dib, staring at him with an odd smile on his face. "You always wondered about human behavior."  
  
"Dib?"  
  
"Why we act the way we act."   
  
He noticed that Dib was completely nude from the waist up. He felt his cheeks get hot. They had never done that before, why now, why-  
  
"Why we do what we do. Do you really want to know?"  
  
All Zim could do was mutely nod. Dib stepped towards him, then placed a hand against his face. He grew even hotter.   
  
"I can tell you-"  
-  
"PREPARE FOR DUTY! PREPARE FOR DUTY! PREPARE FOR-"  
  
Zim sat bolt upright, triggering the motion sensor on his alarm clock. That was...odd. He hadn't had a dream like that...well, ever. He stepped out of bed-  
  
He stopped. Since when did his leg reach the floor?  
  
He ran to the bathroom, throwing the door wide and snapping on the light. He glared at the mirror, then burst into hysterical laughter.  
  
"I'M TALL! I'M TALL! I'M TALLLLLLLL!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!-" He paused. His body, while taller, did not look Irken. It looked...human. He looked like, instead of a tall Irken, a tall HUMAN.   
  
"I'M A STINKBEAST! ARRRGGGHHH!!!" Zim whirled around and kicked the wall. Well, it wasn't entirely true. His eyes were still unblinking red orbs, his   
skin was still green, he still had antennae...his body was just shaped like that of an adolescent male human. He shook his head and decided to cope. He was tall, after all, his fondest wish had come true. He would be fine.   
  
He hoped.  
  
  
  



	7. In A Subtle Way

AN:Heeheehee...yes, my friends, this chapter...the slash begins! Bwahahahahaaa!!! ::coughs:: Sorry. Its mild. Anyway, just to let y'all know, skool starts for me in two days ::sniff:: so my fic output will be cut roughly in half. Ill do my best, but this is senior year and I have to pass! Anyway, on with the slashiness! Heehee...  
-  
Weakness  
Chapter 7-In A Subtle Way  
-  
"Oh my God..."  
  
"...that the green kid? He was a shrimp..."  
  
"...cant be, he was so short yesterday..."  
  
Zim strode through the crowd, a grin on his face. He was finally able to wear normal Earthen clothes (which he despised, but did make him quite a bit less conspicuous) so he had donned a pair of blue jeans and a Blink 182 T-shirt (in honor of the only popular band that didn't propel him to spasms of vomit.) His studies had shown that teenage males were 35% more likely to wear a T-shirt honoring a band with guitars and screaming singing beasts then a single female singer, despite the fact that they al wanted to "do" her. He wasn't sure what they meant by that anyway. He would have to remember to ask Dib...  
  
Speaking of Dib, there he was, chatting with that other shut-in, Fin. They seemed to be getting along very well as of late. He would have to ask Dib of the full extent of their involvement, make sure it didn't get too serious. Nothing could interfere with the plan...Zim began to march forward in order to show off his new height, then stopped. His hands felt clammy, and his throat was catching. He remembered the dream he had last night. Why was this dream so important? Why had Dib not been wearing a shirt? This was too confusing. He shook his head. Maybe he should just avoid Dib entirely until after school tonight. Then they could be alone in his house-  
  
There! That pang in his stomach! The phenomena must have been related somehow. He bit his lip. What in the rodent moons of Blorch was happening to him? Was it related to the hormonal changes he had triggered the night before? Most likely. Stupid GIR, thinking he was a burrito.  
-  
"So, anyway, you gotta see Clerks. You just do, don't argue with me. You'll love it!" Fin burbled cheerily. She was showing off her new Jay and Silent Bob shirt and had been shocked and dismayed to find out that Dib had never seen a Kevin Smith film. "Where have you been? Kevin's the baddest!"  
  
"Allright, allright." Dib laughed and waved his hand in a gesture for peace. "I will see every movie by this guy you shove at me. Is Friday okay? I mean, if you don't wanna-"  
  
"Sure! Ill just-Holy shit!"   
  
Dib blinked in suprise. Fin didn't curse that much, at least she hadn't in the brief period of time he had known her. "What is it?"  
  
"Look over there!" She pointed, mouth agape. "Its Zim! He GREW!"  
  
"Huh?" Dib glanced over, then did a double take. It was Zim, at least, it was someone with green skin and blue eyes...but he was tall and human shaped. He was also out of his standard Irken uniform (one he jokingly referred to as "Zim's cocktail dress") and in a pair of jeans and...a band T-shirt?? He looked like an average boy. Well, an average green skinned boy with a scary toupee missing a nose and ears, anyway.   
  
Zim gave him a grin of (what? triumph? maliciousness? glee?) and walked over, seeming to relish the swing of his newly grown arms. "Hello, Dib." His voice was deeper too. If he could have guessed, he would have said puberty, but who goes through puberty overnight? "Yes, before you ask, I have grown considerably in height as a result of an experiment I performed last night. It is a breakthrough in Irken medicine. I can stimulate the growth hormone in someone now. However, I have a few questions about the process."  
  
"oookay." Dib looked to Fin, who shrugged.  
  
Zim lowered one eyelid at her. "I suppose you know of my origins?"  
  
Fin nodded, then smiled. "I don't care. Just be nice to Dib, huh? He'd make you a nice partner-ow!" She rubbed her stomach, glaring over at Dib, who had shoved his balled fist into his pocket. "Anyway, what's the problem?"  
  
"Well, first off..." Zim lifted up his arm and pulled down his shirtsleeve to display the growth of hair under his arm. "I seem to have developed an odd patch of fur under both arms and on various other parts of my body."  
  
"I see. What else?"  
  
"Well..." Zim rubbed his cheek. "My face seems to be unusually oily."  
  
"And?"  
  
"My voice has deepened severely, and my body mass has elongated itself...and I had a very strange dream last night."  
  
"Oh, really?" Fin cocked an eyebrow. Dib, for some reason, was blushing. "What happened?"  
  
"In it, a...boy appeared." He was hesitant to say Dib's name. He felt his cheeks grow hot again. "He put his hand against my face. He wasn't wearing a shirt."  
  
Fin blinked, then scratched her head. "Oy." She poked Dib in the shoulder. "This is severely guys stuff. Ill leave you to explain it to him."  
  
"Hey, Fin! Wait!" He turned bright red. "You gotta, um-"  
  
Thankfully, mercifully, the bell rang at that moment. Dib dashed for the door. Fin followed along at a much more leisurely pace, waving absently at Zim and stopping to give Gaz a knucklerub on the head. Zim stared after them, then followed the rush, shaking his head in a mixture of amusement and dismay.  
  
Inside, he took a seat at his desk, then waved his hand wildly in the air. "Mrs. Bitters!"  
  
"What." She hissed at the child. "How DARE you interrupt the textbook!"  
  
"I really, really have to go to the bathroom!"  
  
"Well..." she mused. "Normally, i would say no and encourage the class to laugh at your patheticness. However, ever since that child's kidney exploded, I'm legally required to let you leave. Come back quickly, there will be a pop quiz when you do."  
  
Everyone groaned and hissed as Zim ran out of the room. He jogged to the bathroom and then hid in a stall, quickly setting up his computer. "Computer! Cross-reference the following information-hair growth, voice deepening, facial oil, nudity, dreams."  
  
"Processing!" the computer moaned.   
  
"Are you okay in there?" a curious voice asked.   
  
"Silence, stinkbeast!"   
  
The computer whirred and lit off a green light. "Cross-reference complete. Result: Puberty, a time in human growth where a human child goes through a number of hormonal changes to become a human adult. Symptoms include voice changes, acne, hair growth, and attraction to other humans."  
  
"What? NO!" Zim slammed his head into the stall wall. "Ill kill myself before I admit attraction to one of those horrid things!" He paused. An idea had hit him, a brilliantly evil idea.   
  
His previous plan was vague at best. Declare his love for Dib, have Dib love him back, and destroy him with it. However, this...accident provided him with an entirely NEW way to love Dib. He would not merely profess to love him, but be in love with him. Dib was a lonely boy, he surely wouldn't reject him. However, Dib was smart. HE would not fall for something obvious.   
  
"The process must be completed slowly, in a subtle way..." He hissed, rubbing his hands together. "Then...Dib will be MINE! HAHAHAHAHAHA-"  
  
"What the hell is going on in there?!?"  
  
"Nothing! Nothing at all! A prefectly normal maneuver! Mind your business!"  
  
"...freak..."  
-  
"Mmm. Burger." Gaz grunted cheerily as she plowed into a McMeaty Deluxe. Dib, Fin, and Gaz had decided once again to forsake the cafeteria food in favor of the fast food place down the street. "Ill pay you back."  
  
Fin shook her head. "Naw, don't worry about it. We're pretty loaded after my brother won that unlawful negligence lawsuit against the Skool for letting his kidney explode."  
  
"No kidding!" Gaz giggled, accidentally spitting bits of meat across the plasticine table. "That was you?"  
  
"Well, my brother." Fin shook her head. "'That's what High School's all about...algebra, bad lunch, and infidelity.'"  
  
"Hey, isn't that from Clerks?"  
  
"Yeah, I love that movie!"  
  
"Me too, no kidding! Noone else around here has even seen it, the morons..."  
  
Gaz and Fin continued their conversation, giggling amusedly. Nether noticed Dib, who was staring worriedly down at his pile of large fries and not making a sound. He doodled a flying saucer in the ketchup, then dashed it to pieces with a fry.  
  
Zim had gone through puberty, no doubt about it. Showed all the signs, right down to the attraction to other human beings...but Zim wasn't a human being, was he? He was an alien. Was it possible that a part of Zim had been changed the night before, something that made him more human...he had been messing around with chromosomes, he assumed-had he changed his DNA in some way? He would have to ask-  
  
"-ya think so, Dib?"  
  
"Huh?" He looked up. Fin was grinning at him, twiddling a french fry between her fingers. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."  
  
"What's wrong with you, Dib?" she gave him a quizzical glance. "You're really out of it."  
  
"Oh, its nothing. I'm just wondering what Zim did to make himself so BIG."  
  
Fin shrugged. "Dunno. At least you can date him now."  
  
Dib glared at Fin. "I am NOT going to touch that alien SCUM."  
  
She shrugged again, this time with a leer on her face. "I never said you had to touch him, just look at him a bit..."  
  
"Yeah, Dib." Gaz opened her eyes enough to roll them. "Youve been obsessed with him for three years now. Give it up already."  
  
"Its research! Research and that's all!" Dib could feel his cheeks turn red. "I'm trying to save the world from an alien menace!"  
  
"Right, okay. All Im saying is SOMEONE has to tell him what's going on."  
  
Dib gulped. Someone was fine. Anyone but him.  
-  
"Dib." Zim greeted him at the door. It was about an hour after school, and he was waiting at the door with two glasses of water. "You are late."  
  
"Yeah..." Dib bowed his head and walked in. Zim handed him a glass of water, which he gulped down gratefully. He hadn't felt this nervous in a long time. (What's the big deal?) he thought to himself. Just explain the basics of the birds and the bees, skip sexual attraction...or maybe tell him a little...ergh. This was hard. Why couldn't he just hand him a book like The Professor did? Not that the book had been terribly helpful, but still...  
  
Zim sat on the couch, an odd grin on his face. "Now then. Yesterday was your day to ask me questions. I answered them to the best of my ability. Now, I expect you to do the same."  
  
"Right." Dib sat next to him, blushing furiously. "What do you want to know?"  
  
Zim cocked an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious? I want you to explain this odd transformation I seem to have undergone. I understand the hair growth, and the oil...but the dream confuses me still."  
  
Dib nodded, trying to look scholarly. "Em. Well. When humans get to a certain age, they begin to notice an attraction to other...humans."  
  
Zim scratched his chin. "Uh-huh. And after that?"  
  
"Well, when two humans are...attracted to each other...well, you're a boy, right? I think?" Zim nodded helpfully. "Well, a boy would generally be attracted to a girl."  
  
"I see...what if they were attracted to a boy? I have no interest in girls."  
  
Dib blinked. "Umm...then you would be a homosexual, I guess. A boy that likes boys...intimately...is a...yeah."  
  
"Is something wrong, Dib? You look flushed."  
  
"No, nothing." He shook his head. This was nothing to get excited about. He was a scientist, he had to break it down and explain it like one. Right?  
  
"Good. Now, how would a human go about showing his attraction to another human being?"  
  
Dib toyed with his hands. "Well...you would kiss them. Press your mouth to theirs."  
  
"Like this?"  
  
And before he knew it, Zim's cool lips were pressed against his. He opened his eyes wide, mouth slightly opened from the shock. Zim took advantage of this to sweep his tongue inside.  
  
Dib's stomach churned. This wasn't right, not right at all...Zim was KISSING him. His first kiss, finally, and it had to be from his sworn enemy! He would never consciously- Wait a second...his mouth was moving too...He was kissing BACK! A wave of warmth enveloped him, cutting off his brains protest. He shuddered, tempted to allow it to continue, bring it to its conclusion, teach Zim everything-  
  
He quickly pulled back. What was he thinking?!? He took a deep breath and glared at Zim, who stared back at him innocently. "What is it?"  
  
"It...its nothing. I just remembered, I have something to do." Dib sprang off the couch and grabbed his bookbag. He rifled through it and found his Health textbook. He shoved it at Zim. "Read chapter 3, it'll explain things better then I can."  
  
"Very well. Will I see you tomorrow, Dib?"  
  
Dib swallowed hard. "Yes. Tomorrow."  
  
"Very well. Good-bye."  
  
"Good-bye." Dib ran out the door.   
  
Zim grinned to himself. "So shy Dib...tomorrow will be a special day indeed."  



	8. Donating My Body To Science

AN:Hey, sorry this is a short one, but school is kicking my ass up one wall and down another time-wise...between work and school, I barely have time to breathe. Special thanks again go to Dani and her amazingly detailed and incredibly helpful ideas on alien reproduction, this sending me on this little tangent. Just sos you know, the bands featured in this chapter on the radio are (in order) Hole, The Lunachicks, and The Ramones. I also order all of you to check out Heavens To Betsy, cause they rule. And the Gorrilaz!!! They are SO COOL! Music obsessed? Me? Nahh...oh, and some of you are gonna think Im a crackpot for what goes in in the end of this chap with Gaz. Bear with me, gentle reader, it will all make sence in the end. Flames will be fed to my puppy.  
-  
Weakness   
Chapter 8: Donating My Body To Science  
-  
"I know how you look at the world...  
everything can be explained by forms and charts and numbers...  
If you can dissect it you can control it  
if you can name it you can own it...  
You want to diagram my heart  
is it so that you will know how to take me apart?  
if you want to know how I feel  
You could never look me in the eye and ask me...-Heavens to Betsy, Donating My Body to Science  
-  
"Dib lay on his bed, meditatively rubbing his lips. ZIM had kissed him. Zim had KISSED him. Zim had kissed HIM. He couldn't get it out of his head.  
  
The worst part was, it wasn't that bad. Pleasant, actually. He quirked his lips at the memory. His tongue hadn't felt human, but it wasn't necessarily a bad fell...just very smooth and dry. His teeth were shaped like zippers, and very sharp- his lip was still a little sore from a midkiss misestimation. His lips, his body was cold and reptilian. It was about what he expected.  
  
"Mrgh." He stuffed his face into his mattress. Normally, he would be writing all of this out into his Zim journal. Notes, samples, Polaroid's if possible. But what was he going to do? Blot his lips on a napkin? Try and detail the shock that went through him when they had connected? It was pointless, and he knew it.  
  
Instead, he reached over and turned on his stereo. Not having any particular CD he wanted to listen to, he figured the radio would work. When in doubt, loud music is good therapy.  
  
"He tastes like candy, he's so beautiful..."  
  
He growled and flipped the station.  
  
"Why dont you just-KISS MEEE! Its just a kiss, its just a ki-iss!"  
  
He made a pained, whiny noise and flipped it again.  
  
"I wanna be your boyfriend, yeah! I wanna be your-"  
  
*CLICK*  
  
No more radio tonight.  
  
Boyfriend however...this hadn't occurred to him. Was Zim merely experimenting, or had that kiss meant something he didn't want to think about? Zim said that he had no interest in the opposite sex, and yet he had gone through those hormonal changes...it was reasonable to assume he was attracted to SOMETHING. But what?  
-  
"Master! Master! Play tag with me!"  
  
"No, GIR." Zim lay on his couch in silent repose.   
  
"But maaaaaster..." the little robot whined. "Youve been sitting there since the stink human left! Im bored, and Piggy is hungry!"  
  
"Why don't you and Piggy go get some of those disgusting tacos you seem to enjoy so thoroughly? There is money under the rug."  
  
"TACOOOOOOS!" GIR scampered off clutching his tiny rubber friend, leaving Zim to think. It had been about an hour since the incident, and yet he could not get it out of his mind.  
  
The human mouth...at first glance, so repulsive and wet, was actually a commodious chamber for his tongue. Dib's tongue, oddly shaped, flat and slimy...he wanted to compare it to a graden slug, but something in him held it back. What? Why should he be defending Dib in his head NOW, of all times, with his final ploy ready to spring?  
  
It was true that he had been feeling strangely ever since the accident. HE had mentally cursed GIR a million times over for hitting those buttons-and yet, something within him told him that these changes weren't necessarily bad ones-  
  
That was it. There was something new inside of him, something he had not possessed before. It was something that made him look at the humans, so pathetically clinging to eachother, with a new sense of understanding. It wasn't such a bad thing to have someone to cling to, someone to comfort you. It was despised on Irk, considered weak and foolish. He had been lying to Dib-it wasn't the norm to pair the males on Irk because it wasn't the norm to pair anyone. They were reproduced in tubes.  
  
For not the first time, he thought about the tubes. According the the Tallest, who controlled them, it was the most efficient way to breed. Allow only the most necessary functions of the Irken to survive, only the instinct to overtake and command. He had never questioned this now, but he was questioning it now. Why was this considered a good thing? Was this thing inside of him always gone, or merely made dormant by the tube's influence?   
  
He would have to study this later. He had to plan. Tomorrow would be an interesting day. He had decided to allow Dib to believe the kiss was innocent and that he himself was naive-for now. Dib would believe it.  
  
Ah, Dib...how wonderful it would be to have him at last. To clutch him in his arms, knowing that at last his heart could be destroyed.  
  
He suddenly felt a pang akin to the ones he had suffered that morning. Why? Why whenever he thought of Dib? It was true he had developed a kind of grudging affection for him-after all, he was being presented a challenge. Being Irken, he was happy to rise to it. And the boy was very intelligent, thus making it all the more interesting.   
  
He slapped himself in the head in annoyance. Why was he wasting his time thinking like this? It would make things to easier when the time came to crush Dib at last. Shaking his head in annoyance at his own stupidity, he decided to go down into the lab.  
  
Tomorrow was only a few hours away.   
-  
Dib stared out his window. The kiss was all he could think of. It was about 11. If he felt like it, he could have got online and asked around the Swollen Eyeballs. However, the idea just didn't appeal to him. Plus, he was a little afraid of running into that creepy Optic_Nerve guy again.   
  
"I guess...I guess I could let him do what he wants." Dib was slowly turning red with thoughts of what he would want...but think of the research value! It would basically be donating his body to science, he thought, quirking his lips. What it meant he could always worry about later.   
  
"Dib!" Gaz pounded on the door. "Hey! Have you seen my Gorrilaz CD?"  
  
He got up and opened the door. "Naw. Did you leave it downstairs?"  
  
"I don't think so..." She furrowed her eyebrows. "I hope I didn't leave it in the car. Fin wanted to borrow it."  
  
"Oh. Ill help you look later. Fin and I are going to watch some movies this weekend...you wouldn't want to, um..." He looked away. "Come watch them with us?"  
  
He flinched, waiting for the inevitable rejection. He was shocked by the smile that spread over her face. "Okay."  
  
"Um, great!" Wow. Gaz was actually agreeing to spend some time with him. "You really like Fin, huh."  
  
"Yeah. Are you gonna date her?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, can I?"  
  
Dib started. Gaz laughed. "Just kidding. Im gonna go look in my room. See you later."   
  
"Night." Gaz jogged down the hall to her room. She picked up her phone and dialed.  
  
"H'lo?"  
  
"Hey, Fin." Gaz sighed. "Dib seemed a little shocked. I dunno if its such a good idea."  
  
"Well..." the voice on the other end seemed hesitant. "Maybe we should break it to him slowly?"  
  
"Okay." Gaz laughed a little. "Im just...not sure about any of this."  
  
"Noone ever is. That's the beauty of the system." Fin's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Look, I gotta get some rest. Ill talk to you tomorrow."  
  
"Okay. Gnight."  
  
"Night, sweetie."  
  
  
Jibaku-chan  
*Proud supporter of IZ slash!*  
"Open your heart. Straddle the fence. Obey the fist."


	9. Anything So Beautiful

AN:Yes, finally, I have the next chapter done. Everyone celebrate...special thanks to influenza, for keeping me home with a swollen throat so I had enough time to finish this...and there's a little bit of close to the Dib/Zim here, but not enough that you can stop reading it (bwahahaha!) and the Fin/Gaz pairing is just starting. Things will be very confusing for all of us before this thing gets truly underway..but from here, the action begins. Promise. Now I'm off to go sleep a little more...I'm sorry if this chapters incoherent, but so am I. I promise the next one will be longer. I hate school.  
-  
Fin laid on her back in her room, the receiver laying in her hand. She bit her lip. Poor Gaz...  
  
She sighed and began to undo her braids. It wasn't like she had any experience with this kinda thing either. They were too young to know what to do. A week ago she'd had a crush on Dib, for godsake...but it was a silly, fleeting thing. She wasn't even sure she had felt THAT way about Dib as much as she just wanted to be close to him. That and silence her parents, who never ceased their endless wailing about how she was too old not to at least have one date...  
  
Dib was a great guy, really sweet. But Gaz...Gaz was amazing. Gorgeous, with that beautiful purple hair curled in that odd way you'd have to be crazy to like (good thing she was) and those slight little arms...she even wore a skull pendant. And her eyes when open, the most gorgeous shade of hazel...  
  
She had it bad.   
  
If only she had it bad for a boy she could bring home...  
-  
Weakness  
Chapter 9  
Anything So Beautiful  
-  
Dib paced around the skoolyard, heart beating much faster then was healthy. He was going to see Zim son. Zim, Zim...how should he act around him? What should he say? Were they...going out or something?  
  
A finger tapped him on the back, and he jumped. He swirled round to see Fin, grinning like a cat. A very scary cat. "Hey, Dibby. What's up? You're pacing like you saw Bigfoot again."  
  
He shook his head. "Nothing, nothing at all."  
  
Her grin got wider and, if possible, scarier. "Come on, Dib. You can tell me."  
  
"Its nothing." He muttered through gritted teeth.  
  
She smiled. "okay. But once its all good, you gotta tell me. Your ears are bright red."  
  
"Mmmph." He wordlessly covered his ears. He gave the skoolyard one last sweeping glance, and then sat with a sigh.   
  
Fin sat next to him. "Have you seen Gaz? I wanted to loan her a comic book..."  
  
He shrugged. "She slept in this morning. She seemed a little upset last night."  
  
"Really." She struggled to keep her voice neutral. "Any idea why?"  
  
"Nope." He glanced at her curiously. "She did make some weird jokes, tho...I'm beginning to wonder if she might have a crush on you or something."  
  
Fin laughed. "That's ridiculous, Dib. I'm a girl. And while I don't know if Gaz...likes girls that way or not, I doubt she likes ME like that. We just enjoy the same movies-"  
  
"Dib."   
  
Fin raised an eyebrow. The sound of that voice made Dib jump. He had always seemed a little uncomfortable around Zim, but he had never actually FLINCHED before. She turned her grin over to Zim. He was slightly red as well. VERY interesting. It couldn't be...  
  
"Er, Dib." Zim stammered. "Are you coming over after school today?"  
  
"I, eh-" He glanced over to Fin, who looked like she was stifling giggles. "Sure. Sure, I am."  
  
"Excellent." Zim smiled a little. "I have a surprise for you."  
  
The giggle that had been lurking between Fin's lips escaped. Dib glared at her. "Ill be there."  
  
"Ill...see you then." Zim walked off, trying to look casual.   
  
Fin watched him go, then elbowed Dib in the ribs. "DIBBY! You STUD!"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about." Dib muttered, turning a deeper shade of crimson. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, glaring away.   
  
Fin laughed and noogied him. "Okay, okay. Ill lay off. But you gotta admit that was a little obvious."  
  
Dib allowed himself a small smile. "...yeah..."  
  
"You've done well, tho, I think he's mad about you." She twitched her eyebrows. "He was blushing!"  
  
"Was not..."  
  
"Was!"  
  
Meanwhile, Zim sat in front of the mirror in the boys bathroom, chortling quietly and wiping blusher from his face. After studying human reactions to affection-and particularly Dib's the night before-he knew he would have to reproduce the facial blood flow for full effect. Thank the Tallest that GIR had left some of that hideous human facepaint laying around in the bathroom...  
  
Dib's face. He had LIKED that face. So shy. So vunerable. So easily crushed...but he couldn't crush Dib. Not yet anyway.  
  
Not before tonight.  
-  
Gaz walked down the hall, disinterestedly beating the levels on her GameSlave. She had played the game a bah-zillion times before, the outcome wasn't important to her. She wanted to be distracted.   
  
Her father. as usual, had allowed her to stay at home without close scrutiny. She wasn't even sure that he had called her in as absent. However, she could deal with the office tomorrow. They always accepted the "busy scientist" excuse.  
  
She padded down the stairs in her feety pajamas (Yes, one of her darkest secrets was her love of footed jammies) to make some cinnamon toast. Her Mom used to make her cinnamon toast when she was sick. She had always seemed to know how to mix the cinnamon and the sugar perfectly, then bring it to her while she dozed in bed, warm and comfy...  
  
No such luck for Gaz. She tossed the bread in the toaster and got out the cinnamon/sugar she kept mixed for emergencies. This qualified as an emergency, she supposed, and she deserved some cinnamon toast.   
  
Fin was a nice girl. Fin was cute, in a geeky way, with long brown hair she kept back in braids and large brown eyes that were obscured by her thick-lensed glasses. She was appealing in a Rivers Cuomo kind of way. Shy at first, but the more you talked to her the funnier she got...yeah, she liked Fin a lot.   
  
But what was this? A crush? Some kind of weird infatuation? She had never felt this way about a girl before. She had never felt this way about a boy before, either...  
  
A burnt scent filled the air. "Damnit!" She popped out the toast, but it was too late. The bread had been reduced to smoking remains. Muttering to herself, she stomped over to the phone and dialed information.  
  
It was never too early for pizza.  
-  
"So, heres your stop...good luck." Fin grinned at Dib, who gave her a sick little smile in reply. They were standing in front of Zim's house. Dib eyed the lawn gnomes. Maybe Zim had forgotten to turn them off. Maybe he should just turn around and run home-  
  
"Um, I think I should check on Gaz." Dib tried to turn around. "She didn't look good this morning-"  
  
"You said she was faking!" Fin took Dib by the shoulders and began to propel him up the walk. "Stop being a wuss already and get up there!"  
  
"I-hey, wait a minute-I-"  
  
The door opened. Dib jerked away from Fin and stood up, laughing uneasily. Fin waved at the confused alien boy, flicked Dib upside the head, and left the two.   
  
Zim grinned. "Dib. I was afraid you weren't coming."  
  
"Um, well...you know, hadta check on Gaz." He grinned. Did he really sound that nervous?   
  
Zim gave a brief nod in reply, then took Dib's hand. "Follow me, I have something to show you." He ran inside, still clutching Dib and giving him no choice but to follow. The warmth in Dib's hand made him blush. Zim's hands, even in his newly grown state, were so small...  
  
They went up the stairs, through a portal, and into the garage of the Vootrunner. Dib's eyes widened at the sight of the alien aircraft. Zim giggled a little. "Do you like it, Dib?"  
  
"Yes...its amazing." He ran a hand over the craft. It was cold and smooth to the touch. The front hatch hissed open. Dib jumped back and covered his head, making Zim laugh even more.   
  
"Come on, Dib." Zim leapt into the craft and held out a hand to help Dib. "Its not going to shoot you."  
  
"O-okay." Dib allowed himself to be pulled into the ship. Zim shut the hatch and pressed a button. The roof lurched open.   
  
"Would you like to take notes, Dib?" The starship rumbled and levitated, then blasted straight up into the air.  
  
Dib nodded, and took out his taperecorder. "Tape 2, inside of an Irken aircraft-outer colors purple and silver, strange marking-"  
  
"Its an Irken symbol." Zim reached over and pressed the stop button. "Do this when we get back. There's something I want to show you first."  
  
Dib wordlessly placed the recorder back in his pocket and looked out the window. The hazy blue of earth's atmosphere faded to black. The stars became brighter and more numerous. Soon, he was looking at the moon closer then he had ever seen it before. He looked over his shoulder to see the Earth hanging in a blue and white mist. HE gasped. it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.  
  
A pressure in his hand made him flinch. Zim was holding it again.   
  
"Zim." Dib turned to him, desperate to change the subject. "How are we breathing?"  
  
"Oxygen tanks in the craft." Zim sighed. "I didn't bring you up here top discuss oxygen, Dib."  
  
His voice was smaller still. "I know."  
  
"Look out at all that, Dib..have you ever in your life seen anything like that? Anything so beautiful?"  
  
"No..."   
  
Zim scootched closer to Dib. "I haven't, either. I hadn't untill I got to Earth. The stars from the deck of a craft, I've seen many many times. but affection and warmth like the humans have...I have never possessed before."  
  
Dib gulped. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Not half as sorry as I am, Dib..." He stared out of the craft. "I'm sorry we spent all this time chasing eachother, when what we could have was right in front of us."  
  
"What..." Dib turned red. "what can we have, Zim?"  
  
"An end to our respective exoduses. An end to being outcasts...if we have each other, we aren't alone anymore, are we?"  
  
"I guess not. But...um..." Dib turned to look Zim in the eyes. "What are you asking me for? We're already friends."  
  
Zim leaned in close. "I want more then that." His other hand found purchase on Dib's neck. "You know what I'm asking you for. I want to be with you, in the human sense. Will you allow me this?"  
  
"I...I..." In a burst, it all came forward. Years of suppressing himself and his emotions, years of fear and estrangement, years of wanting to say it...After all, the other side of hate is love. In a second, Dib knew his response. He leaned over and threw his arm around Zim, leaning into his chest. "Okay."  
  



	10. Why Are You So Scared?

A/N: hey minna! After a long and unscheduled computer/author crash, Weakness is back! Finally! More yaoi! A little bit of yuri! Even some pizza! Soemthing for everyone...unless you hate slash, in which case you should prolly not be reading this. Okay? Just making sure...sorry about the spelling errors, but I was in such a hurry to get this sucker up I didnt bother to spell-check. Forgive my laziness. This is kind of a "tying up loose ends" chapter...now the plot can begin. Bwahaha...   
-   
Weakness   
by Jibaku-chan   
Chapter 10: Why Are You So Scared?   
-   
Gaz lay on the couch, a peice of that mornings pizza in her hand. the cheese had congealed and the pepperoni was a little rank, but pizza is pizza, and Bloaty's Pizza Hog Pizza is pretty disgusting to begin with.   
  
She glanced up at the wall clock. 5:30. Dib should have been home by now, but he hadnt even called yet. It was strange, his afterschool meetings with Zim never lasted this long before...   
  
*knock-knock*   
  
Shit. Someone at the door, and stuck in feety pajamas. Not good. "Im contagious!"   
  
"Youre faking!" a voice rebutted. Her heart jumped. Fin! She jumped up and swung the door open.   
  
"Fin...umm..." She stopped. They looked at eachother. Gaz didnt know what to do. Should she take her hand? Give her a hug? Run like hell and hide? They stood like that, both slightly red, untill-   
  
"Gaz?"   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"You...wear feety pajamas?"   
  
"Umm...yes."   
  
"I see."   
  
There was a beat of silence, and they both broke into hysterical giggling. The moment was broken. Fin leaned over and pecked Gaz on the cheek, making her blush further. "I guess this is new for both of us."   
  
"Yeah."   
  
"Still wanna try it?"   
  
Gaz smiled widly. "Yeah."   
  
"Wonderful." Fin stepped in and shut the door, holding out a VHS box like a ward against evil. "I brought a video..."   
-   
They floated in antigravity, locked in eachothers arms, feeling the warmth of the two hearts between them. Zim's head was cocked so he could stare out the window at the infinte starfield surrounding the ship. Dib's face was buried in his chest. He wondered vaguely how Dib was breathing, and decided he didnt care.   
  
What the hell had gotten into him? He was planning on taking this slow and doing it subtly. It was just, the look on Dib's face when he looked out that window...the shine of his glasses and the stars, and his messy hair...   
  
Now he was thinking pure nonsence. He wasnt attracted to the stinkbeast, not at all.   
  
So what was this feeling that made him hold the boy closer?   
  
He was cold, that was all. Cold and regretting his rashness. After all, if he had taken it slowly, he could have controled Diob from a distance, manipulated him without giving any of himself. But now he was stuck with this thing, this tiny, mewling, pathetic-   
  
"Zim?" His voice quaked in the darkness.   
  
"Yes, Dib?" The kindness in his voice suprised him. It wasnt exactly forced.   
  
"Are...are you sure about this?" How weak.   
  
"I am. Are you?"   
  
Dib's face buried further into his chest. "I...I think so." His voice was muffled.   
  
Zim glanced down at Dib. He was completely curled into Zim, almost in the fetal position. His shoulders were huddled, and quaking a litle. With a bit of trepidation, Zim ran his hand along the side of Dib's head. He continues to stroke untill the huddling ceased. "Why are you so...scared?"   
  
"I dunno. Its just...for all theese years, Ive been picked on and treated like a freak, you know? And everyone thinks Im crazy, and its because Ive been chasing you."   
Dib turned his face to the side. "Maybe...maybe it was crazy of me, but I always wanted to have you, see what made you tick...you were my proof."   
  
"Your proof?"   
  
"Proof that I...that I was right about something. I had something right. Im always wrong..."   
  
The pain in that statement was a little too much for Zim to take. He was all too aware of what Dib was talking about. Back in training, he was always messing up. He was the short one, the clumsy one, the last picked to compete. the tallest had had a little pity on him once, in a Great Assigning, and all he had managed to do was destroy half the planet. He had just wanted to be right so badly, just once...   
  
He shook his head. He was right. He was an Invader. Humans were weak, thats all-   
  
He felt cold, dry fingers rubbing agaisnt his brow. It felt nice agaisnt his burning skin. He realized he had ben blushing ever since Dib had lain agaisnt him. "Dib?"   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"Is it really so hard to be...homosexual on this planet?"   
  
Dib sighed. "Yes. I dont know why. Some people just take it badly."   
  
"So we will have to hide it?"   
  
"It...might be for the best." Dib sighed. "Kids pick on us enough already, you know?"   
  
"Yes." Zim reached down and easily pulled Dib up to face him.   
  
Dib blushed and smiled. "I dont know how great my self control will be..."   
  
"We'll try." And then Zim kissed him for the second time. This time Dib was ready, and returned it in full. His lips tingled with warmth as Zim pulled away. "Its all we can do."   
  
"Youre right." Dib glanced at his watch. "Oh geez! Its so late! Gaz must be worried, I'd better get home."   
  
"This early?" Zim sighed. "Allright...but can I see you tomorow?"   
  
In reply, he squeezed his hand. "Do you even have to ask?"   
-   
Fin reclined next to Gaz, eating the last peice of leftover pizza, one hand entwined in her girlfriend's fingers. She had thought to bring the Clerks video, and now they were enjoying the movie for the 300th time. All those kids at school who thought that they were perverts...who would have imagined them just sitting around and eating pizza? It almost made her want to be deviant just for the hell of it.   
  
"I wonder what comes next?"   
  
"In the movie?" Fin yawned. "I thought youd seen it. You know that old guy that went into the bathroom near the begining? Well-"   
  
"No, with us."   
  
Fin grinned at the word. Us. It was so final. "I dont know, Gaz. I guess we should just keep rolling with it...I dont think you can make any mistakes too badly with stuff like this."   
  
"I guess not." Gaz leaned into her, yawning a little. "I wodner where Dib is."   
  
"He's over at Zim's, theyre doing that study thing."   
  
"Study." Gaz snorted. "Ill bet theyre just making out."   
  
"Me too. But do Dib a favor and pretend you don't know. He's still a little shy about it."   
  
"Aww...I wanna tease him."   
  
Fin ruffled Gaz's hair. "Give the poor boy a break. Growing up with you he got enough abuse."   
  
"Whats that supposed to mean?" Gaz faced Fin in mock-anger. "I was a perfect sister-"   
  
"Riiiight."   
  
"Why you-"giggling, they wrestled a little on the couch. Gaz managed to get one of Fin's socks off and stated to tickle her. "hah! Revenge is mine! Revenge is-"   
  
The front door slammed. "Fin? Gaz? Is that you?"   
  
They scrambled apart, both looking up expectantly at the person who had just entered the room. Dib gave them a look. "What are you doing here?"   
  
"Well, duh, Dib, I live here." Gaz snorted. "Why are you so late?"   
  
"I was at Zims. Studying. Studying at Zims." Dib quickly babbled, turning red. "Hi, Fin."   
  
"Hey, Dib. just came over to check on Gaz. She's feeling okay." She smield at him in a disarming way. "Why dont you watch a movie with us? I brought Clerks, and neither one of us would mind watching it again."   
  
"Okay. Im...gonna go change." The bewildered Dib jogged up the stairs.   
  
They two girls looked at eachother. Fin shrugged. "He looked...happy?"   
  
They lost it again. They collapsed in a giggling heap. Peace was preserved, at least for the day. 


	11. Jukebox Selections 1

Chapter 11-Jukebox Selections 1  
  
Okay, yeah, I can hear you all complaining-"The new chapter's a videoclip?!? How lame!" Well, just to make things all happy and fun its gonna be TWO videoclips. So HAH! The first one's from Zim's point of view, the second is fro Gaz's. (Idecided there wasnt enough Gaz in this thing.) Although the lyrics work pretty well on their own, it does help to have the songs playing, so you might want to hit Audiogalaxy and donwload...Anyway, bear with me as the experiment begins...  
-  
Song:Tomorrow Comes Today  
Band:Gorillaz  
-  
/Everybody's here with me  
(we) Got no camera to see  
Don't think I'm not all in this world  
The camera won't let me go  
And the verdict doesn't love our soul  
The digital won't let me go/  
  
Zim stood with Dib on the edge of the schoolyard, looking over the children. They were all staring at them like they were completely insane. this could have had something to do with e fact they were holding hands.   
Finally, a voice broke out from the crowd. It was the purple haired one, Zita, who had grown into a most unpleasant child. She tossed ehr hair and sneered, "Oh my GOD! Theyre, like, in love or something!"  
  
The laughter of the group washed over them. Dib squeezed Zim's hand. He looked over and...those eyes...so full of longing...  
  
Shocked by the emotion, he dropped Dib's hand and backed up. "Dib!" he hissed. "Everyone's watching!"  
  
"So?" Dib's voice raised, a tinge of irritation evident. "Why? Are you scared?"  
  
"I...of course not!" Zim blustered. "Im not afraid of anything! Im an Irken-"  
  
"Ahhh!" The crowd of children blurred and faded. Their features streched and warped until they were a group od scietists and reporters. "An Irken! An Alien! We have one at last!" They advanced torward him, slowly at first, butbefore he realized what was happening the were on top of him...  
  
"Dib!" Zim reached out to his boyfriend, who stood watchng with a shadowover his eyes. "Help me! Tell them Im a human!"  
  
The shadowed Dib merely shook his head.   
  
Suddenly, the cameras began to grow arms, long metallic claws not unlike his spider legs. The fingers were shining scalpels, penetrating his flesh. His blood dripped to the ground as tey hoisted him into the air, black in the suddenly dim light.  
  
"ZIM!" The cameras screamed. "Zim! An alien! A homosexual alien! We have you at last!"  
  
"No! No!" He thrashed madly, gritting his teeth. "Dib! Help me! Let me go-"  
  
"NO! NO! WE FOUND YOU AT LAST-"  
  
/Yeah yeah yeah  
I'll pay (yeah yeah yeah)  
When tomorrow  
Tomorrow comes today/  
  
"Gyah!" Zim shot bolt upright in bed, sweat pouring down his forehead. He shivered. What a vision...what a horrific thing to consider. He had never imagined...his relation ship with Dib could have such dire consequences.   
  
He thought back to his past on Irk. He remembered, back in his Invader training camp, when one of the demitallests was walking back in forth in front of the ranks and lecturing them. His name had been Green, and he was only perhaps half an inch shorter then Red. This had given him he job of watching over the younger recruits and training them p to be the Ivaders of tomorow.  
  
"As you know..." he had drawled, giving each of them a nasty look in turn, "Only thirty of you will be chosen to carry the glories of the Irken empire to the farthest reaces of the universe. For some of you, the descision to not be used as an invader will be an easy one. others, perhaps, a little harder. Little things, little things are the things that will hold you back in the end. Things such as a cerain preference, a certain attachment, a certain emotion-" and here his voice had hardened considerably, become bitter and pained. "Theese you will have to pa for, and pay for dearly, when the time comes."  
  
/Stereo I want it on  
It's taken me far too long  
Don't think I'm not all in this world  
I don't think I'll be here too long  
I don't think I'll be here too long  
I don't think I'll be here too long/  
  
Zim shook his head. This was madness, pure and simple. He hopped out of bed and walked over to his interstellar tuner. He tried to tune in Irken frequencies but only recived static.  
  
He snorted at that. "Well. They could have changed them by now,for all I would know...Ive been gone for far to long."   
  
And he had been, too...three years, was it, on this ball of filth? All of this time, all of this effort...he was a embarrassment to his Tallest, to his proud Irken ancestors. All of this because of one boy. Dib.  
  
At this, Zim smiled. Not the kind smile he had shown a few hours ago, but a cruel one. A happily malicious one. "No, Dib..." He cackled to himslef. "I dont think Ill be here too long, after all."  
  
He snapped the radio off.  
  
/Yeah yeah yeah  
I'll pay  
When tomorrow  
Tomorrow comes today/  
  
Maybe the little attachments were the pricey ones...but that didnt mean that he had to be the one to pay it.  
-  
So...the tender feelings in Zim's heart are giving way to cruelty once more. Poor, poor Dib...or Zim, dependng on your point of view. However, this series has dwelled quite a bit on their entanglements...what of our oher couple, Fin and Gaz? We know tat Fin is pleased about the curret situation, but poor Gaz...this is so new to her. IS she happy? Is she sad? Is anything happening under those purple bangs? Lets find out...  
-  
Song: Swallowtail Butterfly~Ai no Uta~  
Singer:Chara  
A/N:Okay, just so you all know, Chara is a Japanese idol singer who I happen to enjoy. I like Jpop. So sue me.  
-  
  
/On my still palm it trembles and hesitates   
In the blue of this blue sky, my heart grows lonely  
After I stuffed into my pocket all the things I believe in   
I walked a long way along the railroad tracks swaying with summer grass /  
Step, step, step. Step after step, think of nothing, feeling nothing, ust staring up at the clear blue sky and tring not to think.  
Gaz did this alot, nowadays. Whenever she was confused or sad, she would simply pack her pockets with candy and her trusty Gameslave and take off. She generally walked away from the suburbs, following the railroad tracks behind her house into the tall grass where she was obscured from everything. Even now, the grass was still taller then her.  
On days like this, when she was lonely, she wished the sky would swallow her up whole. She'd even leave her games behind if that was what it took...   
/In my heart, in my heart there is hurt   
Far away, a mirage is wavering   
In the shadows of the clouds you were chasing a dream of tomorrow   
Distantly I thought of parting/  
She stared up ay the sky, silently willing it to absorb her. After a few seconds, she sighed and gave up. It never worked before,why would it work now?   
Her attention was drawn awayby soemthing shimmering o nthe edge of the tracks. What was it?An approaching train? But there was no sound...  
She shook her head and looked away. If she was Dib, maybe, she would have chased it. Of course if she was Dib, she also would have decided it was a chupacabra or a UFO and chased it across the city, causing much property damage in the meanwhile. He was always chasing things, her brother...  
And he had finnaly caught soemthig. The blush he had been sporting was unmistakeable, as was the grin on Fin's face. He had finnally trapped Zim, for beter or worse...  
But she wasnt alone eitehr, not anymore. She had Fin now.  
She treid to be detahed as she thought of the relationship. So se had Fin. perhaps it wouldnt go well.It would end akwardly, of course, and someone would invariably get hurt. The pain would be worse the longer it went on...maybe she should just pack it all in now?  
/In this soiled world there's no echo of sadness   
Somewhere you pass by, carrying only that  
My body becomes honest in itself   
And I can't stop my tears, but/  
She sighed. She knew it was impossible to avoid pain in this stupid world.Everywhere she looked, people were hurting and sad and ripped off and just plain miserable...the only difference beween her and oehrs was she didnt botehr to hide it. She left her sadness on the surfce for everyoneto admire.   
Fin had admired it, and wanted to embrace it...even echo it back in some ways. But not in a way that would hurt her. She imagined Fin, her long hair flowing out of its braids, walkign along the sreets and searching for her. Poor sweet Fin...  
Astonished, she raised her fingertips to her face and felt tears. She was crying. Gaz was crying.  
/No matter where I go from here   
The world will continue to overcome the night   
And a song of love begins to echo in my heart /  
She laughed a the novelty of it. Gaz crying...it wasnt supposed to happen.And yet it was, becase of one girl who had embraced her so fully tat even entertaining the thought of losing her, or seeign her sad, made her cry.   
There were alot of places she could have gone from there. Back home, maybe. To the mall to cruise the new games. Even the park, or farter down the tracks for a little more solitude. But t tat point, her feet left the metal rails. She was going to Fin's house.   
/I couldn't run freely in my mother's shoes  
I didn't cry, even on the day I first went barefoot  
Even the map I was looking at upside-down--I threw it away already /  
She stumbled a bit as she stepped down-her shoes were too big for her as always. Large black oafers...all she had eft of a mother that had dissapeared long ago, She rememebred the day her motehr had left-she had left a note on the coffeee table for their edifiation. Dib had bawled. Professor Membrane had simply ran ack to hisstudy and shut the door.Gaz had stood, staring for a long tie at the note. The she had goneback to her pafrents bedroom and searched for her mother's belongings. Finding only a pair of black loafers, she had decided to wear them. Her feet were too small then...so she had gone barefoot untill she had finally been able to wear them everywhere.  
Even then, she hadn't cried...merely accepted.  
She thought, ruefully, of ow jealous she had been of the otehr girls in her class back then...they didnt even realize tat they had it so EASY. Two parents, a lovignhome, a family...their liveswere finely plotted like a route on a map. All they had to do was follow it.  
Her map was gone.  
/In my heart, in my heart there is magic   
Wings, open in the storm--you'll fly  
Distantly I remembered you   
And a song of love began to echo in my heart   
By this song of love, I begin to search for you /  
The pain she had felt from that, after all theese years, had finnaly begun to fade. It was being replaced, slowly, by love...love for her brother, love for her GameSlave, love for...Fin, she guessed. She still wasnt sure, but she was willing to find out...  
She pawed the moisture off her cheeks, walked through the tall grass, and stepped onto Fin's porch.  
-finis- 


End file.
